QuoteReplyTopic: Medical supplies to have on hand Posted: February 10 2009 at 2:11pm

Here is a list of medical supplies I have on hand. Of course this will vary from family to family as to your individual needs. This is just kind of a generic list. I probably missed a few things too. Everyone add theirs.

Tylenol

Ibuprofen

Bandaids

Guaze bandages

Medical tape

Caladryl

Benadryl

Cough syrup

Cough drops

Pepto Bismal

Diarrhea meds

Alcohol

Peroxide

Inhalers (we have asthma)

Nebulizer and the medication

Antibiotics

Neosporin ointment

Bacitracin ointment

Hydrocortesone cream

Any prescription meds that you need

Orajel (for toothache) they also make a temporary tooth repair kit, but I don't have one

Icy Hot (for sore muscles)

Ice packs

Sunscreen

AloVera gel

Mosquito spray

Stethoscope

Blood pressure cuff

Thermometer

Ace bandages

Latex gloves (or the alternative if you are allergic)

N-95 masks

Mucinex

Nasal spray

Eye drops

Head lice treatment

Walking cast (we only have one because someone in our family had a broken ankle and I saved it)

What is the size of the particle the N-95 mask is meant to filter. When talking to the lab at NIOSH one person related the approved masks were originally meant for filtering salt sized particles. This would make the mask completely useless against a virus which could easily pass through.

We had quite a discussion of this in New York as how odd it was people, wearing poorly fitting masks, which unless you were worried about airborne droplets which are quite large, for Avian would be useless.

There is a mask we will be putting up after it is NIOSH approved that actually can filter against avian and other viruses.

There is a new mask that has been developed in Australia and is currently under NIOSH testing. It is called the Virogard Plus. It will be a P2 (N95) rated mask with an anti-viral coating that kills human influenza virus.

The mask features a proprietry coating that uses a mechancial process to kill the nucleus of the virus. This coating also provides an effective waterproofing barrier to the mask without inpeding airflow.

The simplest way to describe the proprietry coating is to imagine you are looking at the mask fabric under a microscope. Bonded to the fibres of the mask are millions of interlocking spiked spheres that allow air flow but block pathogens by spearing and trapping them. A minute electircal current built in to the coating neutralizes the nucleus of the pathogen.

Simple but effective. In testing, the mask recorded a log 3 reduction in 10 minutes (equivalent to 98.99%)

In Australia, we have had the Virogard anti-viral mask available for nearly 2 years now. It is used in Australia by Police, Prisons, infection control wards in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Sales have been strong but the main barrier to international acceptance was the lack of a formal NIOSH rating. This has now been addressed and the new mask should be available by June.

The other main benefit of the Virogard mask is that is can be hand washed and reused, cutting dramatically the cost and quantity of PPE you need to have on hand. A box of 10 masks lasts for 30 days.

Currently we are almost out of stocks of the standard Virogard mask. They are AUD$29.95 for a box of 10 (about US$22) while stocks last.

Please contact me if you would like further information or to place an order.

Everyone needs a cane....crutches are great but take up a lot of room to walk....I fell and cracked the small bone in my knee at the joint this summer..thank goodness I had a cane my house is not big enough for crutches......

The aluminum splints that are sold 3 to a box ... various lengths, I like the best.

The finger stays dry because they have a foam base.

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Splints are an excellent suggestion, as we just spent 4 hours this evening in the ER waiting on to see a doctor, get an x-ray and had to have a splint put on DD's hand (injury in a basketball game) torn ligament. Had H1N1 been much worse than it is now and we had wanted to treat it at home, we would have needed a splint and I didn't have one. Guess if it had been and emergency situation we could have fashioned one out of something, but these metal ones with the spongy stuff that bend to the finger are just too convenient. They are not the same type you are talking about, because these are open on the sides. I definately need to pick some of these up for the emergency medical supplies.

Splints are an excellent suggestion, as we just spent 4 hours this evening in the ER waiting on to see a doctor, get an x-ray and had to have a splint put on DD's hand (injury in a basketball game) torn ligament. Had H1N1 been much worse than it is now and we had wanted to treat it at home, we would have needed a splint and I didn't have one. Guess if it had been and emergency situation we could have fashioned one out of something, but these metal ones with the spongy stuff that bend to the finger are just too convenient. They are not the same type you are talking about, because these are open on the sides. I definately need to pick some of these up for the emergency medical supplies.

I was able to purchase the one you described at Walmart. I keep losing mine in the house,, so buy a few extra packages. I injured the same finger again last week, but not too badly, so I have a splint on it again.

My new ones are open on the sides and have velcro closures to help keep them in place.

Thanks for the suggestion Wishbone! I will check my Walmart. I definately want to get some of these to have on hand. Much more convenient than trying to fashion something out of things on hand at home if in a dire emergency and didn't want to go to the ER or doctor.

I really didn't want to go the the ER yesterday because the last time we went there were bunches of people coughing and hacking around, I know they had H1N1 because they had that distinct cough, I could recognize it anywhere since my dughter had it a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly suprised when we arrived there were only 2 coughing/hacking people and we sat far away from them, everyone else was there for things like us, a couple of other people came out on crutches, someone in a wheelchair, looked like mostly injuries.

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